The day after Thanksgiving is always the busiest shopping day of the year, and for store managers and shoppers at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, Black Friday started earlier than ever.

Some stores opened their doors for special sales at 8:00 p.m. yesterday, but most started Black Friday early this morning.

“The store opened at midnight and we saw the most shoppers between then and about 3:00 a.m.,” said Sketchers Manager Matt Clarke.

Although the store offered more sales this year than last year, Clarke said shoppers have been coming into the store more sporadically due to sales that began as early as last weekend.

“I’ve noticed this year that more sales are lasting longer in many of the stores around the mall, and Sketchers was offering buy-one-get-one free sales last weekend to get people ready for Black Friday,” Clarke said.

Similarly, Manager Bill Forrest at Radio Shack said its refreshing to see costumers taking the time to browse for merchandise rather than fight one another for one door-buster sale.

“The store opened at 6:00 a.m. and although we had people coming in for specific specials on items like Bluetooths and TV bundles, the extended sales are encouraging people to actually take their time shopping,” he said.

Shoppers Kennedy Moody and Sydney Ferguson said they began their Black Friday shopping at 7:00 a.m. this morning.

“It was a lot busier earlier, a lot more crowded,” Moody said, who bought items from Forever 21 earlier in the day.

They said although they felt like last year’s Black Friday was busier, the better shopping deals are this year.

“I bought hats for three dollars and scarves for six dollars,” Ferguson said.

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